October 11, 2006

Q: Your book highlights the little-discussed practice of hook-wearing among nine American presidents, if you count George W. Bush, who swapped his hook for a chain saw during his first presidential campaign. In your view, was this a sincere effort to represent the values of working-class Americans—or a calculated ploy to score political points among chain-saw moms?

A: Well, since the hook represents elite membership among the world’s illuminati, it was important that he replace that to seem like just folk. But as we all know, he comes from a very wealthy Northeastern family, genetically engineered by Yale scientists and the cloning vats of New Haven to be rulers of the world.

Metro.co.uk reports that David Bowie will guest-voice on an upcoming episode of SpongeBob Squarepants.

“We’re working on all these new songs now, and I’m realizing that our ability to attack a composition and pick it apart and deftly navigate the entire scope of a composition is really amazing, because we’ve been playing together so much,” he says. “We took a few months off from playing shows, so that we’d have some space to see how we’ve progressed musically and as a group. Getting back together again, the songs are so much better. This is coming out at a time when I feel like our next album is going to be even more surprising when it’s set next to the other stuff.”

But The Killers like Bruce Springsteen. Does that mean people who are into The Killers should be buying your records?

von Harmonson: If they want to!
Flashman: Just because you’re a Killers fan, doesn’t mean you can’t do what you want.
Kushner: I was also going to say that on this last record we spent a lot more time in the studio, and had a much bigger budget…
von Harmonson: …relatively speaking…
Kushner: …and the album is maybe a little mellow for Comets, but our live show is still as retarded as ever. What might be on record and what you see live, it’s very different.

"After 'Midnite Vultures,' I felt like I was ignoring a big part of my music making and my songwriting," he says, the sounds of sirens heard distantly in the background. "That was predicated on the kinds of shows we were doing, and the kinds of songs that were getting the most attention. The popularity of things like 'Loser' or 'Where It's At' led me to believe that people maybe weren't interested in hearing anything serious from me. But I had been writing those kinds of songs forever. It's kind of what I started out doing."

She makes her report from a rest stop. "The tour's pretty good, mostly gallery shows, which is awesome," she says. "I could have played in any grimy rock club, but it wouldn't be a special affair. If I'm at a bar trying to battle the people in the back of the room getting drunk I can't focus on what I'm doing. At a gallery you present what you're doing and everybody's in it together."

Slate offers a slide show on the "charms" of Bryan Lee O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim series of graphic novels.

The Age reports that the shortlisted Australian authors are relieved not to have won the Man Booker Prize.

But when 35-year-old Desai won, there were no phoney smiles masking their disappointment, only sighs of relief that they were not called up to the victory dais at the ceremony at London's Guildhall.

"It was quite terrifying, it's an alarming experience, and I'm really relieved not to have won," said MJ (Maria) Hyland, 38, from Melbourne.

"I felt like the rabbit at the greyhound races.

"Now I'm happier than I've been in a month.

"The tension of even thinking about winning was overwhelming.

"It would have been too early in my career, it would have been very bad - the shortlist is enough."

Billboard reports that a Cincinnati independent record store is partnering with an independent coffeehouse to sell used CD's.

Indeed, the two are splitting profits, and Zen & Now does not have to purchase any music. All the inventory is up to Shake It. Who knows? If it works, indie retailers could have an excuse to start stocking checkout counters at independently owned businesses around the country.

After a show last fall in Paris, a jazz pianist named Charlie O. came to the stage and started playing while we were clearing up. The room was dark, and only the club workers and the band were there. We began dancing and scatting along to Charlie's playing, calling him to do more encores for us. He insisted that someone sing with him, so I sang "La vie en rose" and it was definitely one of the most special and spontaneous musical moments for me.

Q: If you were to make the Mongolian playlist, what songs would be part of it, and why?

A: I couldn't pick the song titles, but I could tell you the genres, and a couple of the bands.

1. Hurd (pronounced HORT), the only Mongolian metal band. Their fast stuff is terrific and they have a great style of projecting an almost stadium presence in a very small space.

2. Traditional Mongolian / Tuvan throat singing. Maybe this is the most familiar Mongolian music to Americans. For those who've never heard it, it is almost electronic sounding. Made by singing two different notes simultaneously, one through the mouth and one through the nose.

3. Mongolian Long Songs, so called NOT because each song is long, but because each NOTE is long. Really strange and haunting music that will make you instantly sad.

4. Mongolian horsehead fiddle music. It reminds me a little of bluegrass. Very fast and very stringed. It is the music that made the camel nurse its kid in the movie.